Why do some soldiers return from war with PTSD and some don't?

Question

Does it have to do with their mental state and mental health before they even went to war?

To clarify, I am talking about soldiers who are in combat.

Answer 1

Everyone is different and everyone has different experiences while at war. While in the Air Force I saw several people come back from Desert Storm different than they were when they left. I don't think the people who come back with PTSD are any stronger or weaker than the ones who don't come back with it. Then again, it could be that the symptoms don't show up immediately in everyone.

PTSD is not something that can be pinpointed and is unique to each individual.

I pray that everyone finds their way back to good physical and mental health on their return.

Answer 2

First Blood (Rambo) Born on the Forth of July Uncommon Valor Heaven and Earth Forest Gump Rolling Thunder Some Kind of Hero Birdy Who'll Stop the Rain Jacob's Ladder Missing in Action (three movies) Don't Cry, It's Only Thunder The Deer Hunter Dead Presidents Coming Home

Answer 3

PTSD is most known in military circles, but it's mostly common outside of the military. Kids getting beat up at school, finding a dead body, witnessing a death etc. It can even be contagious. Some people handle it better than others and some people handle things differently depending on the situation (for instance they don't mind watching somebody die as long as it's not friends or family). Also PTSD has different catagories from light to severe. On the light end of the spectrum, there is an easy chance of misdiagnoses. At that end some people may or may not have it and the doctor just guesses.

Answer 4

The real answer is: 'Nobody knows.' Studies have been performed where cohorts of soldiers were give psychological questionnaires before going to Iraq but nothing was found that correlated before-deployment mental state to the incidence of PTSD.

What is known is that Combat PTSD is caused by structural changes that occur in the brain. These changes are permanent.

All throughout history 15% of veterans have gotten some level of PTSD.

Answer 5

Some have said some can take it and some can't. What I have to say about that is, bullshit! It has nothing to do with the mental state of the individual before they left, but rather, it depends on the experience each person goes through. For instance, when I got home I was pretty jumpy from loud, sudden, unexpected noises because of explosions while in the AOR.

Answer 6

I am a Viet Nam vet. Most people that have been in heavey combat return home jumpy. I remember when we got to Japan on the way home , someone slammed a car door and every one hit the ground. Even those without PTSD.

Even people next to each other in combat experience different things.

All things factor in. If you have never seen extended combat , it will be harder for you to understand. Facing and seeing death for long periods of time effects every one to different degrees.

Sometimes they go for months unscaved and then it comes apart. We are all different.

I hope you don't believe that only metally unstable people are effected.

The people that are seemingly uneffected , Don't have the dreams and the mental triggers that set them off.


All people are effected by their environment. all people who have been through combat are no different. War is hell. It makes heros and cowards of us all.

Answer 7

People can react differently to the same situation. It has to do with brain chemistry in the individual. A soldier's brain may be pre-disposed to PTSD, but needs a trauma to trigger it.

Answer 8

As I know it, all soldiers who've been in combat areas for more than a week have some PTSD.

Answer 9

Some people can take it and some cannot. I think you are right about mental state before shipping out.

Answer 10

I it can be broken down to another question of "why can some people watch horror movies and other cannot?". It is just what they are willing to handle. I really do not think it has much to do with their previous state but more to do with their ability to accept what they see.